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March 26, 2014
75 cents Teller County, Colorado | Volume 53, Issue 12 A publication of
pikespeakcourier.net
Candidates hit hot topics By Pat Hill
phill@colorado communitymedia.com With a new council candidate, albeit, unopposed, and an opponent for Mayor Dave Turley, the Woodland Park municipal election April 8 has been rejuvenated. In a candidate forum March 19, Noel Sawyer was the new kid on the block while city councilman Gary Brovetto is challenging Turley as a write-in candidate. If he loses, Brovetto will remain on the council. Ken Matthews and John Schafer are returning for a second term. Hot-button issues in the question-andanswer session included the Woodland Aquatic Project, economic development and the Pro Cycling Challenge Aug. 22. “The financial health of Woodland Park is very sound; we’ve been able to build a reserve,” Schafer said, adding that the city has $500,000 in reserve. “So that reflects some of the things we want to do.” While 80 percent of residents who responded to a survey listed an aquatic center as a priority, Schafer was blunt. “The financials we have seen indicate there will probably be a $200,000 shortfall each year of operation,” he said. One option, he
said, might be to ask the taxpayers to fund the shortfall, he said. The Pro Cycling Challenge puts Woodland Park on the map, he said. As well, Schafer highlighted the economic potential of the Main Street project and the application to be approved as a Creative Arts District. Turley highlighted the potential for increased revenue from Woodland Station, a project of the Downtown Development Authority, as well as the entrance of Charis Bible College. The improvements in Memorial Park are another attraction that brings people into the city. “Everybody understands what a jewel the park is,” Turley said. Four years ago, voters turned down a request of a 1-percent tax increase to build an aquatic center. “You have to understand where folks are and see if you can do things with increased revenue,” Turley said. The city is responsible, first of all, for infrastructure, public safety, parks, water, sewer, roads and drainage, for instance, Brovetto said. “Once we have enough money, then we can increase quality-oflife opportunities such as an aquatic center, or event center,” Brovetto said. “We’ve
Woodland Park candidates for the municipal election April 8 talked about issues and concerns for the upcoming years in a forum at the City Hall chambers. Photo by Pat Hill got to be proactive in economic development, capitalize on our assets and support existing businesses.” Sales taxes, he added, provide about 45 percent of the city’s revenue. As the new candidate, Sawyer said he didn’t have enough information to reply.
Over the years, the chamber and the Downtown Development Authority have come a long way in making things work, Matthews said. Acknowledging the role of Topics continues on Page 5
City goes under magnifying lens Public welcome to Main Street meeting By Pat Hill
phill@colorado communitymedia.com Woodland Park is on display for two days next week while a team of professionals assesses the town’s strengths and weaknesses. The exercise is a preliminary to being accepted into the Colorado Main Street Program. “The designation gives us legitimacy, access to resources,” said Vera Egbert, chairman of the Main Street committee. As well, the city of Woodland Park will be included in collective advertising, nationally as well as internationally, Egbert said. Managed by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, the program is designed to assist communities in revitalizing their downtown corridors. The program is funded by grants from the State Historical Fund. The Community Assessment March 31 and April 1 is among the steps to achieving the designation. “If we get accepted we’ll more than likely create a 501c(3) as a conduit for funding,” said Brian Fleer, executive director of Economic and Downtown Development. The committee is encouraged by the financial support from the city, which kicked in $10,000 while the Regional Building De-
Is Woodland Park becomes part of the Colorado Main Street program, the city will be eligible for funding and have access to a variety of resources. The program is managed by the Department of Local Affairs. Photo by Pat Hill partment added $5,000 to complete the funding for the assessment. “The team will give us an assessment about where they think we should spend our time and money to make Woodland Park successful,” Egbert said. “They are talking to all these different groups; they want the good, the bad and the ugly.” As a preliminary, the Main Street board did its own assessment. The city’s strengths, for instance, include Farmers Market,
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the Harvest Center, Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Center, the natural beauty and a strong arts community. Among the city’s weaknesses are bad attitudes about growth, lack of on-street parking and few family-oriented businesses. As well, development is threatened by a divided business community, smaller middle-class income, empty storefronts and aging demographics. The team does the assessment based on four premises, organizations, promotions/marketing,
economic development and historic-preservation design. The team includes people in the professions of architecture, business, construction, retail and marketing. “They canvas communities, do tours, talk to people,” Fleer said. “They basically want to get the pulse of Woodland Park based on those four premises.” While the boundary is the traditional downtown area, the designation will offer trickle-down benefits throughout the entire city. “We’ve had tremendous success with the overall retail, par-
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ticularly at the national level, as evidenced by sales-tax growth,” Fleer said. “But we’ve had issues at times with the downtown corridor. We need to get a handle on how we make that corridor strong, viable and consistently successful. “ Eventually there will be a Main Street coordinator to help plan community events, a position funded by the city. “I see this as a function of working together with the chamber,” Fleer said, referring to the Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce. With a coordinator, the city enhances the chances to attract a variety of tourists. “We have a lot of groups that do a lot of things; and we know that summertime in Woodland Park is very limited,” Egbert said. “So let’s think about things that complement each other. We want to bring all these groups together; to date, that’s not happened.” With Main Street designation, the goal is to have the buy-in of the various groups that previously were divided. “That’s my hope, my vision,” she said. “Once you’re accepted into the program there are a whole series of things you work on before you actually get the designation.” The committee presents the findings of Community Assessment in a public meeting at 6 p.m. on April 1 at the Ute Pass Cultural Center.
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